


strawberry avalanche

by bloodroots



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Panic Attacks, So this is a thing I did, Tags Are Hard, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, a snoopy nightlight, but if you do hate it tell me bc i haven't had a good cry in a while, corduroy the bear, don't hate it pls, hi guys, i go into it more in the notes at the end, idk about this one fellas, idk why i hate richie's parents so much sorry, im not tagging it mommy kink bc its not even close to a kink, oh i forgot one, oh i should also mention, richie calls eddie mama, strawberry and cream scented body wash, stress induced age regression, tags tags tags, that should be a tag smh, these tags make this sound dark i swear it's not, uhmmmm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-03 13:13:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21180002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodroots/pseuds/bloodroots
Summary: richie didn’t have a stellar childhood, his memories of it filled with so much yelling and breaking of furniture or objects that any second of them had him spiralling into a 30 minute panic attack that lead to him locking himself in his room for three days.because of this, sometimes richie likes toshut down.not entirely, not enough to be unaware of his surroundings, but just enough.just enough that he likes his food fed to him, likes being washed with the fancy washcloths and the strawberries and cream body wash, likes having his back rubbed while he was read to.eddie, it happened, liked providing these things when the occasion arose.





	strawberry avalanche

**Author's Note:**

> {title from strawberry avalanche by owl city}
> 
> it's been forever since i've actually written anything so instead of updating things people actually wanna read i wrote something that will satisfy my tastes and that maybe mads will like idk yet we'll see 
> 
> THIS IS IN NO WAY SEXUAL! I DO NOT CONDONE THE SEXUALISATION OF LITTLES OR AGE REGRESSORS! DO NOT GET ON MY DICK ABOUT THIS! IN THIS WORK OF FICTION THEY ARE BOTH CONSENTING ADULTS SO SHUSH! THANK YOU KINDLY
> 
> i overuse "husband", "baby", "honey", "darling", "Eddie", "Richie", and probably some more sorry 
> 
> (also hi i tend to always overwrite scenes to be too long so sorry)

Eddie knew _ The Snap™ _ had been coming for a while now. Richie’s mother, Maggie, had called earlier that week to complain about Richie’s “childish” career as a comedian, he had to cancel two shows three days after that because he had lost his voice, and a comedy critic had attended his show the previous night and had completely tore Richie and his jokes to shreds. 

So when Richie came into their house with his clothes and hair soaking wet from the rain outside, his jaw tight and his hands scrunching into fists at his sides before relaxing and scrunching again, Eddie began slipping into his role. 

These times had certain ways of starting out so Eddie could understand what he was walking into. Sometimes Richie would come home bouncy and giggly, falling into Eddie’s chest and talking animatedly about his day. Sometimes Richie would storm in, slamming the door to get a reaction, and then be dragged to the couch and over Eddie’s knee until the smaller man had broken him down to sobbing into Eddie’s sweatpants as he let out all of the day’s frustration. 

Tonight wasn’t either of those times. 

When Richie came home and didn’t say a word, simply closed the front door and stood in the foyer staring at the floor, Eddie knew he had to be gentle with him. 

Eddie set his laptop down on the coffee table and unfolded his legs from underneath himself, stretching a bit after being in that position for a few hours. Eddie stood up and slowly made his way to stand in front of Richie. He lifted his hand up to the strap of Richie’s satchel (_ “it’s a man purse, Eddie! Call it what it is! Satchel sounds more gay than purse if we’re being honest” _) and carefully slid it off his shoulder. 

Eddie made sure that all his moves were slow and exaggerated so as to not startle Richie, whose thousand yard stare was still going strong. Eddie hung up Richie’s bag on the hook on the wall and turned back to his husband to figure out how much damage control was needed that night. 

It had been raining outside so Richie was soaked down to the bone, his hair and clothes dripping onto the rubber mat in front of the door that Eddie bought for that very purpose. His glasses were a little fogged from the AC in the house and his body had started to shiver. 

Eddie gave one quick nod and made his first move. 

“Chee? Baby? You with me?” 

This was an assessment of sorts. Eddie knew Richie was mentally present, he always was, but he wanted to see if Richie had gone non verbal. Richie's response would determine Eddie’s next move. 

Richie broke from his trance, blinking a few times before tilting his head down to look at Eddie. His eyes were glassy as he nodded, his shivering picking up. 

Okay, Richie was currently non verbal and shivering. 

Eddie made his second move. 

“Okay, baby. Let’s get you warmed up, hmm? Does a bath sound nice?” Eddie asked softly, waiting to see how Richie wanted to get to the bathroom. It was always a toss up between walking or being carried.

Richie shook his head, turned and walked down the hall towards the bathroom. Eddie followed close behind, but kept a safe distance. 

Sometimes during these episodes, Richie didn’t want to be held or touched in any way, just wanted Eddie’s presence near him. Richie had explained it once, some strained, tearful recollection of how his parents would handle his low moods. How they would hurt him until they got their answer on why he was feeling down, and then they’d hurt him some more until he would stop crying. 

Eddie had several dozen bones to pick with for Maggie and Wentworth the next day, that encounter ending with Wentworth nursing a fractured jaw (courtesy of Eddie’s surprisingly sturdy right hook) and Eddie now banned from Richie’s parents’ house. Richie held Eddie close when they had gotten home, kissing his forehead and then breaking down into boisterous cackling that didn’t stop until his face was soaked in tears and Eddie had dragged him to their bed to sleep. 

So Eddie never touched Richie unless he asked him to, always letting Richie lead the way of how he wanted to be taken care of. He just stood in the doorway as Richie started the shower, finding the right temperature after a few moments. Richie reached up to the buttons going down his shirt, pulling at them and the fabric to get the wet cotton off his body. Eddie didn’t move until Richie let out a pitiful whine from the back of his throat, looking over at Eddie with big, glossy eyes. His bottom lip wobbled and Eddie understood. 

Eddie made his third move, taking large steps to get to Richie. 

“Chee, can I touch you? I just want to help you get these wet clothes off, okay?” 

Richie nodded stiffly, staring at Eddie’s fingers as the smaller man undid the buttons until he could push the shirt off his husband’s shoulders. Richie's skin was even colder than Eddie had thought. Eddie made quick work of Richie’s shoes and socks so he could get his jeans off and get his boy in the shower. He kept Richie’s boxers on, per his request the first night this kind of episode occurred. 

“You’re doing so good for me, baby, so, so good.” Eddie cooed. Richie smiled a little and ducked his head to hide his eyes. 

Eddie slipped Richie’s glasses off his face and set them on the counter, grabbing his hand and leading him under the shower spray. Richie went willingly, his curls sliding down his face with the water, his body warming up slowly. Eddie unclasped his fingers from Richie’s so he could close the curtain and avoid getting water on the floor, but froze when Richie let out another whine. 

“What? What is it, baby?” Eddie asked, concerned Richie was hurt or upset with him. 

“In with Chee.” Richie pouted, tugging on Eddie’s wrist to try and get him under the water as well. 

“Okay, baby, okay. Let me get undressed, alright? Don’t want soggy clothes to deal with later.” Eddie soothed, taking a step back to pull off his clothes. 

“N-not–not underwear.” Richie muttered. Eddie looked up to see Richie’s hands on his stomach, his bony fingers digging into the flesh there nervously as Eddie unbuttoned his jeans. 

The request was nothing new. When Richie got into this headspace of his, he couldn’t handle Eddie or himself being entirely unclothed. He’d only managed to be comfortable with Eddie having no pants on recently. When this first happened and Richie wanted a bath, wanted Eddie in the bath with him, he had glanced up to see Eddie stepping into the tub fully naked. Eddie’s naked body was nothing Richie hadn’t seen before, but Richie’s absolute breakdown seconds later was so intense, so terrifying for the both of them, that Eddie had to call Bill and Stan over to help calm Richie down before he could hurt himself. 

The conversation that followed the morning after that still haunted Eddie, he couldn’t even imagine how Richie was dealing with those memories, with the knowledge that people that raised him, that he had loved and trusted, could do such _ horrible _ things to him. If Eddie thought he had a chance of dodging jail time on a double homicide charge, Wentworth and Maggie would’ve gotten what they deserved _ long _ ago. 

“Of course, baby. Wouldn’t dream of it.” 

Eddie slipped under the spray of water quickly, not wanting Richie to wait for him for too long. The feeling of soaking wet boxer briefs was entirely unpleasant but the feeling of Richie’s arms wrapping around him pushed the thought from his mind. 

Richie shuffled closer to his husband until there wasn’t a piece of skin between them that wasn’t touching in some way. Eddie heard Richie sigh contentedly, resting his cheek on Eddie’s head. He smiled against Richie’s frigid chest, reaching behind said man to turn the shower knob a little warmer to get Richie’s body temperature up. 

Eddie let him stand there a few minutes, just until Richie’s shivering had subsided and his lips had gained some colour back in them. Now came Richie’s favourite part: [the strawberry and cream body wash](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjPka3C3c_lAhVRRKwKHQMQASsQjRx6BAgBEAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fsg.carousell.com%2Fp%2Fi-love-strawberries-cream-shower-gel-53802888%2F&psig=AOvVaw1rfoq_9HLMuooWfl4q728D&ust=1572928518382207). 

Richie had seen it on a shopping trip with Ben once, while Eddie was at work, and it had been on sale. He plucked the pink bottle off the shelf and tipped it sideways, watching the pearlescent strawberry milk coloured shower gel slide around inside the bottle. He liked how the gel glinted in the light enough that he didn’t even care how it smelled, throwing it in the cart on top of the hummus and chicken nugget lunchables they had already gotten. It was a good thing the body wash ended up smelling nice as well as looking nice, both aspects serving to satisfy Richie’s two main head spaces with something to calm his more adult side and a pretty gel to excite his smaller one. It was a win win in his and Eddie’s books. 

Eddie grasped the shower gel in one hand and reached for a washcloth in a basket beside the shower with the other, all while trying his best to not let go of his husband. Once he finally got a washcloth, Eddie held it under the water a few seconds to wet it and then poured the shower gel on it. The smell of strawberry syrup and sugary cream filled the shower as Eddie tried to give the body wash a few moments to warm up. 

“mm mm, pesh?” Richie mumbled from Eddie’s neck, either too tired or too comfortable to pick his head up from there. 

“What d'ya say, honey?” Eddie asked, setting the body wash bottle down on the shower rack so his free hand could rub the back of Richie’s head. 

It took Richie a second to unstick his face from Eddie’s neck but when he did, Eddie’s heart throbbed. Richie's eyes red rimmed from exhaustion, his bottom lip wobbling as his body seemed to shrink from six foot four to four foot two feet tall right in front of Eddie’s eyes.

“Please use soap? The berry one? Been good! You said!” Richie pouted, wanting nothing more at the moment than to have Eddie wash the day’s pain away with the suds down the drain. 

“I did say that, didn’t I? And I meant it, you’ve been so amazing, baby. Now let’s get you smelling sweet, sugar.” Eddie said, bopping Richie’s nose with a dot of the sweet gel. 

Richie giggled, wiggling around happily in Eddie’s embrace while he rubbed his back with the sweet smelling cloth. Eddie paid special attention to scrubbing Richie’s ribs to hear his baby’s giggling bounce off the walls of the shower. Eddie let out a laugh of his own as Richie squealed, squirming around to escape Eddie’s hands. 

“N-no more! No more ti-tickles!” Richie shrieked, his face still split in half with a grin. Eddie relented, moving through cloth up to Richie’s shoulder blades. 

“Okay, sweetheart, okay. No more tickles, I promise.” Eddie said sweetly, kissing Richie’s forehead before stepping back to rinse the washcloth off and add more shower gel. 

Eddie looked up at his husband as he snapped the cap closed to see Richie pouting at him, his arms folded across his chest and his bottom lip stuck out, just begging for attention. 

And Eddie always provided. 

“What, baby? What is it?” Eddie already knew it was because he had stepped out of Richie’s embrace to rinse off the washcloth, but he also knew that he needed to get Richie to use his words so he wouldn’t slip back to being non verbal. 

“Eds left. Want Eds back here.” Richie grumbled, stomping his foot a little to show he meant it. 

Eddie chuckled to himself, shaking his head as he stepped back over to his husband. 

“Darling, I'm right here. But I need you to give me a minute to wash your front and your hair and then we can cuddle all you want. How’s that sound?” 

Richie mulled it over, his thinking face making Eddie chuckle again, before nodding slowly and taking a step towards Eddie. 

“Hurry, please.” Richie almost whispered, sounding nowhere near the happy baby he’d been just two minutes before. 

“I’m hurrying, baby, don’t worry.” 

Eddie made quick work of scrubbing the rest of Richie’s body down before he wrung out the washcloth and hung it over the faucet. He turned back to Richie and pulled him close. 

“You’re doing so well, honey, so, so, so well. You’re so good.” Eddie cooed, petting Richie’s back softly. 

He felt Richie’s body lose the tension it had built up over the few minutes they weren’t touching in some way, the taller man practically melting onto Eddie where he stood. 

“I gotta wash your hair and then we’re done, okay? Just some shampoo and conditioner and then we can dry off and get ready for bed. Is that alright with you, darling?” 

Richie nodded slowly, pulling his head up to meet Eddie’s eyes a moment. 

“Can I sit, please? Legs feel wobbly.” 

“Of course you can, sweetheart. It’ll make things a lot easier now that I can actually reach your head, my little giant.”

Eddie gave Richie’s cheek one last kiss before he helped Richie down to sit on the tub floor facing away from the water. He stood in front of the shower head so the spray wouldn’t get in Richie’s eyes, reaching past the curtain to the shower rack until his hand felt a familiar bottle. He pulled the bottle back into the shower and popped the cap, tipping the cocoa butter scented shampoo onto his palm. He closed the cap and set the bottle aside, reaching down to Richie’s head to start massaging his hair. 

Washing Richie’s hair was always a nice experience for both husbands. Richie liked it because he loved the soft touches and affection Eddie gave him through the whole experience, and Eddie liked it because he loved seeing his baby sitting calmly with a sleepy smile on his face while he worked the shampoo through his curls. 

Right on cue, Richie yawned as Eddie’s fingers worked in slow circles around his head and behind his ears, washing away all the bad from the day. Eddie finished this part of their shower routine quickly as well, wanting to get Richie into their bed as soon as he could. 

“Alright, baby, can you turn around for me so I don't get soap in your eyes?” 

Richie nodded and spun around, tilting his head back so Eddie could shield his eyes from the water. Eddie’s free hand worked through his husband’s hair until all the suds had been washed out, huffing a bit as he reached out again to grab the conditioner. He globbed some onto Richie’s head and started working it into the dark curls, careful to not tug on any strands that caught on his fingers. 

“Eddddssssss.” Richie whined, leaning forward to rest his head against Eddie’s leg. 

Eddie hummed, leaving Richie’s hair to rest for a few minutes. 

“Can we get out now? Wanna snuggle.” 

Eddie could picture the pout on his boy’s face without even looking at him. 

“Just two more minutes and then we can rinse and get out. Can you count out two minutes for me, Chee?” 

Richie huffed but did it anyway, counting out loud all the way to one hundred twenty before Eddie clapped for him happily. 

“You did it, Chee! Now we can rinse out your mop and get you into some pajamas.” 

Richie grinned, bending his neck back so Eddie could rinse out his hair again. He almost fell asleep at the feeling of his husband’s fingers skimming over his scalp in such a soothing way until he heard Eddie shut the water off and start stepping out. 

“Alright, let’s go, honey.” Eddie snatched up a green towel from under the sink and held it up so Richie could wrap himself up in it. 

Richie scrambled out of the tub, nearly tripping over himself to escape the cold of the house outside the shower curtain. Eddie reached out to steady his husband and wrapped the towel around him when he was stable, his long legs making the towel look like a child’s. 

“I’m gonna change and get some dry pajamas for you. Take off your wet underwear and hang it over the shower rod and then come to our room, please.” 

Richie nodded in affirmation, his eyes followed Eddie until he left and then reached down to tug his wet boxers off. The fabric wanted to cling to his skin but Richie finally tugged hard enough and heard the underwear hit the bathroom tile with a _ plop! _ He giggled to himself as he picked them up and hung them, readjusting his towel to keep himself covered on his trek to their bedroom. 

Eddie had towelled himself dry and slipped on some joggers and an old high school track team shirt he had in his drawers, already digging through the bottom drawer in Richie’s dresser to find his “soft clothes”. Eddie settles on a blue and white tie dyed shirt and some black boxers, knowing Richie’s body always felt like a furnace when he slept. Richie came tiptoeing into the room a second after Eddie tossed a pair of white crew socks with koalas sewn on them onto the bed next to his pajamas. 

“‘m ready for ‘jamas now.” Richie said to Eddie, shuffling over to the bed to stand in front of them. 

“Alrighty, just put your boxers on and I’ll handle the rest, sweetheart.” Eddie said, turning around to face the wall opposite Richie so he wouldn’t see anything. 

Eddie heard Richie drop his towel and slide the boxers up his legs, then he heard a slight snap and an _ ow! _ following close behind. His baby always was a clumsy one. 

Eddie turned back around when the shuffling of clothes stopped, picking up the oversized tie dye shirt and yanking it over Richie’s mop of wet curls. He guided Richie’s arms through the sleeves and pulled it down over his tummy, almost tearing up at how cute his husband looked in such a large shirt. 

“Sit on the bed for me, sweetheart, gonna put some socks on you ‘cause I know your feet get cold at night.” 

Richie giggled when Eddie’s fingers brushed the soles of his feet as he slid the socks on, wiggling his toes around when his husband was done. Richie looked down at his feet, that were now covered with sleepy marsupials, and then back up at Eddie, blinking tiredly. 

“Do you want me to brush your hair, honey?” Eddie asked. 

Richie thought about it. On one hand, his curls would be a tangled mess tomorrow if he didn’t let Eddie do something with them, but on the other hand, that would also mean that Eddie wouldn’t snuggle with him until his hair was brushed and conditioned so Richie chose the first option. 

“No brush, please. Just wanna snuggle you.” Richie said honestly, his eyes round with sincerity. 

“Alright, baby, you got me.” Eddie chuckled, climbing onto the bed and propping himself up against his pillows. 

“C’mere, Chee, come snuggle with Eds.” 

  


Richie lifted up the comforter and bounded you the bed, coming out of the blanket next to Eddie. Eddie laughed at his husband’s antics, making Richie laugh too. 

“You look just like E.T. right now, Chee. Now, c’mon, cuddle time!” Eddie exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Richie and pulling him onto his lap and into his chest. 

Richie sat frozen for a moment before he melted, wrapping his legs around Eddie’s waist and his arms around his neck, burying his face in Eddie’s neck. He rubbed his face against the tan skin before he yawned and got still. Richie almost fell asleep, until Eddie had lightly pinched his side to get his attention. 

“Chee? Sweetheart? I just have one more thing we gotta do and then you can sleep, okay?” 

Richie whined, shaking his head against Eddie. 

“I know, baby, I know. But it’s just _ one _ more, and then I’ll read you your favourite book?” It came out as an offer, one Eddie knew Richie couldn’t refuse, and suddenly Richie was sitting up to look at his husband directly. 

“You promise? Gonna read _ all _ of it?” Richie asked cautiously, his eyes narrowed questioningly. 

“I promise, baby.” 

“Okay.” 

Eddie raised a hand and set it in Richie’s hair, starting to finger comb the dark curls as a way to ease into his next move. 

“Do you wanna tell me what happened today?” 

Richie’s breath hitched suddenly, his whole body stiff on top of Eddie. Eddie searched his face for any sign of a meltdown but found that he couldn’t read his husband’s expression at all. Eddie decided he needed to push just a little bit more. 

“Eds, I–“

“C’mon, Chee, what happened? What got my baby so upset that he came home and didn’t even wanna talk at all? What crushed my baby’s joy, hmm?” Eddie asked softly, rubbing circles into Richie’s scalp. 

Richie’s legs started to shake a little around Eddie’s waist, but he still kept that neutral expression that Eddie couldn’t read for the life of him. But suddenly, Richie opened his mouth and spoke. 

“Ju-Just a bad day.” Richie mumbled, picking at a loose string on the hem of his shirt. 

Eddie frowned. 

“What made it bad, sweetheart? How can I make it better if I don’t know what’s going on?” 

Richie’s jaw tightened and then smoothed out so fast Eddie barely caught it, but he did. Richie needed to talk to him. 

“Nothin’, just dumb stuff. Dumb.” Richie said, the string suddenly becoming much more interesting. 

“Sweetheart, it’s not dumb if it upset you. No one and nothing ever gets to hurt my pretty baby and gets away with it. Let me help you feel better, honey.” Eddie reasoned, setting both his hands onto Richie’s bare thighs. 

Richie had always enjoyed skin contact (to certain extents) after a bad day and a shower so Eddie made sure to pull out that stop. He had to get Richie comfortable enough to talk to him. 

“Don’t wanna feel _ better _ ! Wanna _ sleep _!” Richie shrieked, slapping Eddie’s left hand. 

Eddie moved his hands like he had been burned, looking up at Richie in confusion. How bad had his day been that he didn’t even want Eddie to touch him? Richie stares at Eddie, his eyes starting to gloss over as he teared up. 

“Baby, it’s o–“ 

“Went called an-and said can’t come over no more ‘cause he don’t like me ‘n you to-toge-together! And didn’t ha-have my ‘brella an’ it started rainin’! Man’ger said we gotta close ‘nother show and I don’t wanna! I don’t wanna do that, ma–“ Richie slapped his hands over his mouth, his whole body shaking as tears leaked down his cheeks. 

Eddie stares at up his husband, shocked. All of this bad news in one day was enough to make anyone upset, especially his baby. But what caught his attention the most was what Richie was about to say. 

“Chee, can you tell me what you were going to say?” 

Richie shook his head almost violently. 

“Sweetheart, _ please _ ? Here–“ Eddie reaches up and slowly pried Richie’s fingers away from his mouth, holding them tightly. “–just talk to me, baby. I won’t be mad, couldn’t _ ever _ be mad with you.” 

Richie looked down at their hands and tangled their fingers together, embarrassed of what he’d almost said. 

It only ever happened when Richie was feeling especially small—still big enough that he could understand Eddie and communicate somewhat, but still small enough to crave the touch and comfort of his husband. But Richie felt safe, that was why he did it, Stan said so and Stan knew everything. So safe and calm and—

“_ Mama _!” Richie wailed, letting go of Eddie’s hands and throwing his arms around his neck, sobbing openly into his neck. 

“Oh, _ sweetheart _.” Eddie cooed, holding the back of Richie’s head with one hand and rubbing over his spine with the other. 

“Sorry, so, so so–sorry, Mam-ma. Was mean, didn’t me-mean to be mean.” Richie sobbed. 

“Baby, my sweet baby, it’s okay. It’s okay, just breathe.” Eddie soothed, holding Richie as close as he could get. 

Richie took a large, shaky breath in and cried harder into his husband. Eddie tried his best to calm him down, petting his hair and skin, pressing kisses to his hair and cheek, even rocking him back and forth to try and calm him as you would a baby, but to no avail. After a few minutes and with no sign of Richie stopping anytime soon, Eddie switched tactics. 

“Darling, Chee, you gotta try and calm down for me. You’re gonna make yourself sick.” Eddie whispered, pressing more kisses onto the skin on Richie’s face that he could reach. 

Richie coughed and spluttered for a few seconds before sitting up and rubbing the tears and spit and snot off his face with his arms, making Eddie wrinkle his nose and reach for some baby wipes they kept in their bedside dresser. Richie choked a few more times while Eddie cleaned him up until he’d gotten down to slow tears and some sniffling. 

“Sor-sorry, Mama. Know you don’t-d-don’t like messes. I’ll stop cryin’, ju-jus’ a second.” Richie mumbled, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes and rubbing harshly to try and dry his tears. 

“No, no, no, baby, no. Don’t do that, you’ll hurt yourself.” Eddie admonished softly, pulling Richie’s hands away from his face again. Richie whimpered but listened anyway. 

Eddie put both palms on Richie’s cheeks and left them there, staring into his baby’s eyes as he slowly but surely calmed down. Eddie’s thumbs wiped away a few tears that slipped out of Richie’s eyes, watching as Richie’s hands came up to wrap around Eddie’s wrists. 

“There ya go, there he is. You’re my good baby, aren’t you, darling?” Eddie cooed, feeling Richie nod after a minute or two. 

“You just had a bad day, Chee. You’re allowed to have bad days, everyone is. Bad days don’t make you a bad person, sweetheart. I’m so sorry you had to deal with so much stress by yourself, I really am. You don’t deserve anything bad to ever happen to you. But, I want to help anyway I can.” 

Richie sniffled again but no tears came, just a watery little giggle. His thumbs rubbed the soft skin on the insides of Eddie’s wrists and then he looked into Eddie’s eyes. 

“Can...uhm....you don’t have to i-if you don’t want to, it’s totally okay, but....can you...can you sing? To me? Please?” Richie all but whispered, his cheeks heating up under Eddie’s hands. 

“Sing for you? You wanna hear my terrible singing to feel better? Baby, I’m _ honoured _ you’d give up your hearing for me.” 

Richie giggled again, a little more sure this time, and nodded enthusiastically. Eddie smushed his cheeks together in retaliation. Another giggle. Eddie sat up and hugged Richie around his middle, falling back onto the pillows before he could blink. Richie rested his ear against Eddie’s sternum and shuffled his knees around Eddie’s waist before he got comfortable. 

“Got any requests, honey?” 

Eddie slid his hands up the back of Richie’s shirt, rubbing over his dimples of Demeter and the knobs of his spine. Richie sighed contentedly. 

“The _ one _! From-from that movie with the robot and-and the guy! He loved the robot.” 

“The Moon Song? Is that the one, honey?” 

“Yeah! That one, Mama, sing that one!” 

“Okay, baby, okay.” 

Eddie felt Richie hold his breath as Eddie cleared his throat and began to sing. 

“_ I'm lying on the moon _

_ My dear, I'll be there soon _

_ It's a quiet and starry place _

_ Time's we're swallowed up _

_ In space we're here a million miles away _

_ There's things I wish I knew _

_ There's no thing I'd keep from you _

_ It's a dark and shiny place _

_ But with you my dear _

_ I'm safe and we're a million miles away _

_ We're lying on the moon _

_ It's a perfect afternoon _

_ Your shadow follows me all day _

_ Making sure that I'm _

_ Okay and we're a million miles away... _” Eddie trailed off, waiting for any sign that Richie was still awake. 

“Your voice is so, so pretty, Mama.” Richie whispered in awe, not picking his head up from Eddie’s chest. 

“Well, I’m glad you liked it, baby. Are you ready for bed? Or do you wanna read until you fall asleep?” 

Eddie’s fingers had woven themselves into Richie’s semi-dry curls, rubbing his scalp softly. Richie hummed. 

“Book, please. Wanna hear your voice.” 

Eddie smiled. 

“Okay, Chee. Go turn your nightlight on while I get your book and I’ll read to you, okay?” 

Richie nodded, slowly climbing off of his husband to flip the switch on his nightlight by the closet. It was a Snoopy one Bill had bought for him, knowing how much Richie liked his favourite old cartoons. Eddie leaned over to reach the small bookshelf on the other side of their bed, running his finger over the spines until he felt the one he was looking for. Richie crawled back into his previous position at the same time Eddie grabbed the book and flipped to the first page. 

“Alright, baby, get comfy under the covers—that’s it, there ya go— and we can start.” Eddie said, an arm around Richie’s shoulders. 

Richie wiggled a bit to get under the comforter but made it, slotting his legs between Eddie’s. He nodded against Eddie’s chest when he was ready. 

Eddie cleared his throat again and began. 

“_ Corduroy is a bear who once lived in the toy department of a big store. Day after day he waited with all the other animals and dolls for someone to come along and take him home... _” 

Eddie’s smooth (slow for once) voice filled Richie’s ears and calmed his racing heart, one of his hands fisting the front of Eddie’s t-shirt and the other reaching up to wrap a semi-dry curl around his finger and held onto it. Having the slight pressure on his hair soothed him just as much as calling his husband _ Mama _ did, making the tightness in his chest loosen up and his breaths come out a little easier. 

Richie clocked out before Corduroy had gotten to his new home, the soft puffs of air against Eddie’s neck giving him away. Eddie looked down at his husband’s face, smiling a little as he leaned down to kiss his forehead. Eddie closed the book and set it on their bedside table, turning off the lamp and wiggling his body against the pillows to get comfortable. 

He wrapped his arms around Richie’s shoulders and rested his hands linked on his back, sighing heavily as his body started to relax. 

“Goodnight, Chee, Mama loves you so, so much. We’ll talk tomorrow. Sleep well, my sweet baby.” Eddie whispered, closing his eyes and starting to drift off. 

A quiet, sleepy sounding “_ love you more, Mama _” filled his ears and he chuckled, rubbing Richie’s arm up and down before settling down for the night. 

They would definitely talk about everything that was stressing Richie out tomorrow but tonight, Eddie was more than okay just having his baby on his chest, fast asleep while the faint smell of strawberries and cream drifted up to his nose. 

Tonight, Eddie breathed in deep and let the strawberry avalanche crash over him .

  


**Author's Note:**

> okay so a basic breakdown of richie's mama thing: richie had a bad childhood because of both parents, but based on my own mind making shit up + literally two seconds of maggie dragging richie down onto the pew in the synagogue after he claps for stan in the first IT leads me to think that maggie had more of a negative impact on richie than wentworth did. because of this, richie finds comfort in calling eddie "mama" when he feels as though eddie is making him feel safe and loved, like a mother would. on eddie's end of things, because of all the shit his mom put him through, he has an urge to care for people around him that he cares for, emotionally or physically or even both in richie's case. because of both of these situations, they both benefit from richie's method of coping. 
> 
> i also mentioned stan telling richie that it was okay that he called eddie that, and i stand by that. to me, stan is not only That Bitch, but he's also aware and accepting of a lot more than people would think he'd be. i think that he would understand that richie regressing is due to childhood trauma and lets him cope with stress, and that he would encourage it. despite the fact that stan does believe that everyone around him has negative two braincells at any given moment, he cares for all of his friends immensely and puts their care before anything else. 
> 
> AGAIN, NO PART OF THIS IS SEXUAL OR NON CONSENSUAL IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM. AGE REGRESSION, IN THIS FIC, IS USED AS A COPING MECHANISM FOR CHILDHOOD TRAUMA AND STRESS. DO NOT GET ON MY NECK ABOUT IT OR I WILL TAKE YOUR TEETH.


End file.
